Country:
Venue:
Categories:
Orth Contemporary is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new Silver Deposit paintings by Jimi Gleason on view at the gallery from September 7ththrough October 19th.
Gleason’s Silver Deposit paintings are the product of an artist’s journey marked by the discovery of what a little bit of alchemy can achieve in the act of painting. Using silver-nitrate on a treated acrylic canvas, Gleason transforms the surface into a sterling sheet of metal. A revelation made by Gleason over a decade ago. Since then, Gleason has provided the viewer with access to be a part of the painting with our own image reflected in its ultra-sleek finish.
With this reflective surface, Gleason continues to develop work that helps define our contemporary concept of space. Gleason has set the stage for a unique experience. Looking at the paintings, the viewer is able participate while pondering their role in the work’s existence. Spending time around the paintings, we realize how real, physical and complex this liminal space can become. A space between reality and the indefinite.
Born in Newport Beach, CA, Gleason received his BA from UC Berkeley in 1985. He studied printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute before relocating to New York City, where he worked as a photo assistant and photo technician. Returning to California, Gleason was employed in the studio of Ed Moses for five years. Combining skills developed during his exposure to printmaking, photography and mixed-media painting, Gleason is now the subject of considerable curatorial and critical praise. His work is exhibited in significant public institutions, including the Armand Hammer Museum, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Seattle Art Museum, the Tucson Museum of Art and the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation.
Artist:
Jimi Gleason has spent his career exploring the reflective possibilities of a painterly surface. “By using an iridescent surface coat, I have managed to create visual spaces that respond to both the play of light and the location of the viewer,” he says. Mixing nontraditional materials such as silver deposit with acrylic paints, Gleason’s surfaces are highly reactive to light and shifts in the viewer’s position.
To achieve his luminous surfaces, Gleason utilizes industrial materials - silver nitrate to be exact - in a process he’s been investigating and applying for over a decade. Performing an act of sheer alchemy, Gleason treats acrylic-coated canvases with a chemical mixture, which he then sprays with silver nitrate solution, transforming the surfaces into sterling sheets of metal.
His silver deposit surfaces act as enigmatic mirrors that are activated by the viewer and the environment they are situated in. Light, color and form are injected into the paintings via the external world - through this movement, Gleason hopes to induce a meditative experience for his viewers.
Jimi Gleason was born and raised in Southern California. He graduated with a BA in Fine Art from UC Berkeley in 1985, later moving to New York. Upon his return to California, Jimi worked as a studio assistant for renowned abstract painter, Ed Moses.
20 South Lewis Avenue, Tulsa OK, 74104
